Kotary house base



Aug. 7, 1951 c. A. KIRKMAN EIAL 2,563,531

- ROTARY HOUSE BASE Filed Nov. 26, 1946 s Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTOR wessa/v A AVRKMAM RUSSELL 0. hum/1 4 /v. CHfSTE/i A./1//-?KMA/V5 Aug. 7, 1951 c. A. KIRKMAN ETAL ROTARY HOUSE BASE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1946 YRQ TUN R m wm III! \I ll l||| lrlll Aug. 7, 1951 c. A. KIRKMAN ETAL ROTARY HOUSE BASE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 26

Aug. 7, 1951 c. A. KIRKMAN YET AL ROTARY HOUSE BASE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 26, 1946 11 far'ney c. A. KIRKMA'N 51 m.

Aug. 7, 1951 ROTARY HOUSE BASE Filed Nov. 26, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fl/S-S'ELL D- KIRK/HAN, C'HEST'R A Affa/n Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY HOUSE BASE Chester A. Kirkman, Russell D. Kirkmamand. Wesson A. Kirkman, Los Angeles, Calif.

ApplicationNovemberZfi, 1946,.Serial No; 712,358:

2. Claims. 1

The present invention. relates to. turntables, and' specifically to what is known. as a rotary house base.

The invention hasfor-an object the provisionof a rotary house base so constructed and arranged as to permit utilities to enter the house. By utilities we refer: to the water and. gas mains, and sewage disposal and electrical conduits, which enter the house in. such a manner as to comply with underwriters requirements, and wherein there is no contamination between the various utility inlets: and: outlets.

A. further. object. is the provision. of a rotary house base arranged to permit controlled rotation of a house as desired by the house occupants.

Specifically, we contemplate a house wherein, under control, the house will rotate in a given direction, and: through. selected degrees, as for instance, ninety, degrees of are. In this manner any given location of the house may be rotated sothat. a given room at alltimes receives sunshineduring a day, orthe said room is maintained intheshade.

A further object is the provision of a rotary house base so constructed and. arranged as to be of rigid structure, wherein stresses have been analyzed, a structure'which permits the erection of an attractive type of dwelling or building, wherein the various utility inlets are readily accessible, which is economical of construction, andsuperior'to structures utilizing a fixed foundation.

With. the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, association, and relative arrangement of. parts, members. and featuresall as shown in certain embodiments in the: accompanying drawings, described generally, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

r In thedrawing:

Figure 1. is a, plan view of the revolving. base for a dwelling or other structure;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view on the; line 2--2 of Figure 3, and looking in the direction of thearrows;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view, and on an enlarged scale of the gland assembly for utilities entering the building structure, said View looking generally in the direction of the arrow 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-l of'Figure 1,.and looking. in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation. of means for rotating: the. turntable, and looking substan- Figure 6 is: a fragmentary elevation. of. the.

means shown in Figure 5, and looking. in the direction or the arrow 6 of. Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a fragmentary sectional view of! stabilizing means for the turntable, said View, taken substantially on the lineT-l of Figura Figure 8 is. a sectional view on the line. 8-4 of Figure 2, the parts being shown in fragment;v

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view. taken onthe1ine9-9 ofFigure 1;

Figure 10- is. a sectional view showing a. house mounted on the turntable with. means for connecting electricity within. the house. through an overhead conduit; and

Figure 11 is. a diagrammatic. wiring diagram which may be utilized in the practice of the invention.

Referring now with particularity to the drawings, and specifically to Figure 10,11 have shown a framing. l. representativeof a dwelling of some form whether. it be. house, store, or other. structure, and said framing is mounted-so. as to be rotated progressive. amounts at the. will of. an operator. This. invention differs in many particulars from ordinary turntablesv such as are used in railway yards, in garages for automobiles, and. the. like, in that the. present structure. is adapted not. only to rotate the house but. to permit utilities to. enter the house. In this respect the invention incorporates what is. thought to be by the said inventors numerous refinements which. render the invention. attractive to a user thereof, and. which is capable of being utilized in practically any form of dwelling to obtain results superior to. dwellings which have a fixed foundation, andtherefore non-rotatable.

The improved. turntable structure is designated as an entirety and. in one embodiment by the numeral 2. and. the same includes sector-type piers 3 arrangedin. spaced,.circular relationship. This circular relationship is best shown in Figure 1 wherein willbe seen that said sectors lie in the same circumference. or are all equally spaced radially relative to a center point 4. The piers may be of the-form shown in Figure 10, or any other form in cross-section. The said piers may beof concreteor other material, and are adapted for placementupon a foundation such as the earth surface indicated. at 5. The top surface of each pier lies. in the same horizontal plane. Assumiing that. all the piers are in position, said piers are adapted. to supporta circular rail or track 6 through the. medium of grooved wheels. 1. The

wheels 1 are supported by means of brackets 8 on the tops of the piers 3. The rail in the present instance is channel-like in section, as see Figure 5, and one leg of the channel is received between the flanges of a wheel 1. This construction permits a ready guiding of the turntable durin rotation thereof. The rail 6 in turn is secured to stringers designated generally as 9, see Figure 1. The stringer size will depend upon the dimension, specifically the floor dimension, of the structure to be supported by the turntable,and said stringers are of a length suflicient to overlap the rail, which is to say, passed beyond the circumference thereof. The stringers 9 are secured to said rails by means of gusset plates designated generally as I0. Certain of thestringers 9 are provided with sheathing Ha, see Figure 9; this sheathing constitutes metallic plates secured on opposite sides of a stringer for the purpose of bracing the plates designated generally at 2 I, to assure proper bracing. The stringers shown at |2 to l5, inclusive, are bracedadjacent the hub by means of gusset plates designated generall by numeral 22.

A bounding bar 23 is carried by ends of the radial stringers 9. This bounding bar defines the limits of the dwelling I mounted upon the turntable, and indicates in the present instance that the dwelling may take a square form; the corner portions are rounded.

It is intended that floor joists 24, see Figure 9,

should be carried on and between the stringers 9 so as to, form a means whereby a flooring may be secured to the turntable, the said floor joists 24 xtend from the bounding bar 23 and between the stringers so that a flooring may overlie the same. This floorin is not shown, but it is intended that it should follow ordinary construction. Figure 6 shows floor joists 24 mounted upon the stringers, and said floor joists may be secured to said stringers and particularly the metal sheathing surrounding certain of the stringers as depicted in Figure 9, through the medium of brackets designated generally as 25. be angle-iron in form and secured to the sheathing of the joists by welding, bolting or otherwise. The general intention is that the stringers and floor joists should be of firm construction, so that weaving does. not occur when the turntable is rotated on the rail 6. In the drawings, one possible means of securing the joists and stringers is illustrated, as those skilled in the art may devise other means. The dwelling house framing, or other structure, is of course secured to the joists and stringers in the ordinary manner.

In order to rotate the house we provide a motor .26, seeFigures and 6, which drives a reduction 'unit, 2'| through a fluid drive, the reduction unit includinga shaft 28, carrying a pulley 29. A continuous cable 30 is passed around the rail 6, and looped about the pulley 29. As shown, the cable isconfined within the channel of the rail. The cable may be guided'by pulleys or rollers 3| and .32 carried by one of the piers 3, see Figure 1. The motor 26 and reduction unit 21 are mounted upon *one leg of the channel-type rail 6.

. support the rail.

a suitable foundation 33 and in such a manner as to allow adjustment thereof to tension the cable 30. This adjustment while not detailed is indicated by the dotted lines in Figures 5 and 6.

In addition to the horizontal gussets shown in Figure l for the purpose of bracing the stringers, we have provided vertical gussets for the rail 6 as shown in Figure 7 at 34 and 35. Thesegussets extend between the rail and one of the stringers. As it may become necessary to brace the turn- .table against windage, the said piers 3 carry brackets 36 which have a portion 31 overlying This construction assures that regardless of side thrusts due to winds or other elements, that the rail will at all times remain on the rollers I, which rollers As previously indicated, the hub acts to support the inner ends of the stringers 9. The center for the turntable is so constructed and arranged as not only tosupport'the turntable at this point, but likewise to permit utilities to be received with in the dwelling or other structure I. Thus in the structure shown, a central pier 38 is provided. As shown in Figures 4 and 10 the center pier 3Bv may be of solid construction and carry upon its top surface 39 spaced supports 4|] for a base plate 4|, the said base plate underlying the hub H as 7 more clearly detailed in Figure 2.

Said brackets may 7 The central hub is detailed in Figures 2 and 3, and reference is now made to these figures. The construction is such that the hub casing H rotates when the turntable is rotated. As shown in the figures, the internal diameter of the hub casing is sufficient to accommodate certain utility pipes. On the axis of the hub casing is a vertical pipe 42. This pipe is adapted to convey gas within the dwelling or other structure supported on the turntable, the said pipe at its lowermost end being connected through a fitting with 'the gas main shown at 43. Concentric to pipe 42 and spaced therefrom are two spaced-apart annular tubes 44 and 45 which provide an annular passageway 46; Oneend of the two tubes 44 and 45 is closed by an annular wall 41, and a fitting at 48 permits communication with the annular space 46 and with a pipe 49 leading to the water main. The top of tubes 44 and 45 carry inner and outer annular flanges 50 and 5|. These flanges are either integrally formed on the upper ends of said tubes 44 and 45 or Welded thereto as shown in Figure 2.

overlying the flanges 50 and 5| are annular plates 52 and 53, the said plates being spaced apart and lying in the same plane and secured to the flanges 50 and 5| by any suitable means such as bolts designated generally at 54. Plate 52 surrounds the pipe 42 and may be secured thereto by welding. Interposed between plates 52 and 53 and the flanges 50 and 5| is an annular gland 55. To stabilize the gland so that it may rotate between the seat members, being the members 50 to 53, inclusive, a bracket 56 is secured to said gasket by welding or otherwise, the said bracket in turn, through the medium of a bolt or other means 51, being carried by a stabilizer bar 58. This stabilizer bar is secured at one end by bolt 59 to hub casing A pipe 60 communicates with an opening 6| s: isisupport'ed by the turntable; Uponrei'erence to Figure 45 it will be observed thatzthecasingrhub.

I;I isprovid'ed with a series of transverse openings such as: shown at 64 and it is. through certain of the openings. 614: that the pipe such. as shown at163r is passed. See also Figure 3.

Spacedly surrounding the annular tubes or piping: 44 and 45 are twospaced. apart annulanpipes or tubes 65. and 66 which may be" a. castingr to provide an annular passageway 61 therebetween. These. pipes or castings. take care; of. the. sewage. The upper ends of said tubes or: pipes; are provided with annular recessed-z annular? flanges 6.8 and: 69 having annular plates I9; and; TI: secured thereto by bolts or other means, designated. generally by 12, with an annular glandiplatea'm' interposed between the flanges 58 and .69, and the annular plates lm nd'll A bracket 14. is. welded: or: otherwise. secured to: the. gland plate 13* and in turn said: bracket is fastened by bolts. to the stabilizer bar; 58.. A waste pipe I6. is. passed. throughone; of the open:- ings 64 of the hub: casing: Isl. and, so curved. as to have. the outlet end 11 thereof passed through an opening in' the gland. plate. 13: whereby sewage may flow therethrough from the house and. into the. annular space 61:. The arrangement. is, such that the. wall height for the tubes or pipes 55 and. 66 varies. and there is a. downward slope .at the. base, as indicated. by the line. I8. The annular space 61 is in communication with the usual sewagepipe'lfi...

To stabilize the. structure. brackets. arev mounted on both. the central. tube or casting 65 at 80, and tothe tube. 45 at'8.l ,.the saidbrackets being-interconnected through the medium: of a bolt. or. screw 82-; While single brackets. have been. mentioned, it. is evident that apluralitythereo'f, may be providedsee Figurefi'at I09 and. I Ill Attention is directed to. the enlargement on the: end of the part 1.6 whereit communicates with the annular space. 61, see Figure. 3' at 94-. Ihis construction aids in the eiiicientdisposal of sewage and its reception within; the space 61'.

Any convenient typeof glandmay be-utilized in conjunction with theuppen end of the. gas pipe 42. for conducting the, gaswithin the house supported by. the turntable, and an accepted type of gland. for this. purpose. isillustrated in Figure 2 at 85. This particular gland is of well known construction. For. eachof the utility pipes. wemay. provide drain plugs or inspection plugspsuch asindicated at 86, for. the sewage. disposal pipe. and at 81 for the water pipe. Other refinements'may be added as desired, such as by including valves 88anda 89 controlling the passage of' water or gas. within the space 45 and pipe 42 The base plate at is not adapted for rotation, nor do the sewage disposal pipes. 65 and 66;.the water pipes 44 and-45, or gas pipe42, rotate when the hub casing is rotated. It will be observed that the stabilizer bar 58'; which rotates with the hub casing I I-, is secured" by means of" brackets 56- and 14' to the-gland plates 55 and 13-, with the consequence that when the hub casing rotates the gland plates 55 and 13 will rotate upon their seats. The pipe It will rotate with the hub casing II for the reason that said pipe passes through said hub casing and is attached to said hub casing by means of cooperating brackets 90 and 9|, held together by a bolt 92, and likewise by a bracket 93 which cooperates with one end of the stabilizer bar 59 and secured to said stabilizer bar by means of a bolt 94.

What mayibe termed a bearingor: pivot. plate: wrests on the top. surfaceof the baseiplate-lll. This pivot plate: is. annular. in form and. held against shifting during rotation thereof lay-means of two rings-96- and. 91', the ring 9.6 lyingadjacent the periphery of: the plate 95, while the. ring 91 restsupon ring. 96 and overlaps thepivot. plate 9.5.. Any convenient means: such as. bolts shownat llfl? maybe utilized for holding the parts in working relationship.

A- groundl fit engagement may exist between the cooperating racesof the base. plate: and, the pivot plate, or rollerbearings may be. provided. as deemed necessary. To lubricatethe working-taut faces we may provide. some convenient means whereby: grease may be. forced between thfie said. surfaces, as for instance, shown at 99, and. con.- sisting of a pipeleading to said surfaces. andexe teriorly of a base plate support.

It is not intended that thevariousutility pipes.- should ofnecess-ity depend for support upon. ma.- sonryiorthe reason that all of said utility pipes should be interconnected so that relativeshifting therebetween is prevented. This is accomplished: in one embodiment of the invention by providing. radial brackets or lugs I00; see Figure 3, secured. to the external pipe 66 and anchored to. mountsingbrackets IOI integrally formed on or otherwisesecured tobase plate 4 I.

The hub casing II is. provided with an exter: nal: skirting I02, which. skirting cooperates with an external skirting I93 secured to. the base plate 41, seeFigure12. This skirtingis adaptedzto confine electrical means such as switches which controlthelighting circuit and wiring to the motor: 25 for the house and turntable. The skirting acts. to protectthis wiring against the elements.

We have shown two possible electrical circuits which may be utilized, one in Figur e2 and. the other in Figure. 1 0. In Figure 10 we provide a pole I94 adjacentthe turntable. Power lines I05 extend to the pole. In' Figure 10 a cupola. IIJIi is supported on a bearing plate 'I IlIi' carried by the roof rafters, the rafters being bracedat this zone by members I09. Extending between the pole and the cupola is an overhead supporting arm I'II'I. This arm supportswires Hi8 between the pole and the interior of the cupola. Extending downwardly from the cupola and within what may be termed the attic of the house is a shaft I119. This shaft-is properly braced by a bearing; Carried by the rafters in the attic isan end bearing for one end of the shaft, and on said shaft are a series of disc armatures IIII. There are brushes such as illustrated at I I I in contact with the discs IIIl having leads H 2 extending therefrom. Within the house for access by the occupant are a seriesof switches H3 and I I4. Attention is directed to the diagrammatic wiring in Figure 1-1 At I I 5- are a series of four trip switches, the switch arms of which are interconnected. Wires H6 and II! connect with the brushes I'II andone of the wires, to wit; II'I, with the. switch arms I I 5; The other wire leadsto tl'ie motor" 235 and from the motor wire Ilfl' connects with contact points N9 of four switches I20. Each switch arm I20 is pivoted at II2I apart to a fixed foundation beneath the turntable and secured to the turntable are stops I22 of which there are four. To illustrate the operation, when one of the switches I I4 is closed, a trip switch H5 is closed, for instance, the switch shown at I23. A switch I29, shown at I24, will complete the circuit to motor 26 until such time as the switch arm wheel I25 strikes one of the stops I22 amabaie 7 to open the switch, whereupon the motor will stop operation and the turntable will stop its rotation, the switch I20 again closing under spring actuation.

Each one of, the other switch arms has a separate contact which is brought into position when the turntable has made a certain degree of rotation, it being observed in Figure 1 that said contacts I22 and I23 lie in different circles of rotation.

External the hub casing II and protected by the skirting I02 is an annular series of armatures I26, of which there are four. Each armature takesr'the form of a ring rigidly secured to and depending from an annular insulation disc I21, said disc being supported by means I28 fastened to theskirting I02. The means I28 may constitute either an annulus or a series of transverse supports for sides of the insulation disc. Electrical conduits I29 and I30 each have two wires which are independently secured to the armatur-es I25 as shown in Figure 2. Positioned beneath the armatures I26 is an insulation disc'I 3| carrying a series of spaced brushes I32 adapted to contact the larmatures I26. The insulation disc is supported by a bracket I33, said bracket beingmountedupon ring 91. There are electrical leads I34 connected to the brushes I32, the said leads being passed through an opening I35 in the :base plate 4|. It is obvious that the armatures I26 will rotate as the hub is turned and that the brushes will remain stationary as the turntable rotates in the same manner as for the armatures H and its brushes III, the remaining circuit members being the same as shown in Figure 11. The electrical means of Figure 2 does away with the overhead system shown in Figure and in some installations may be desirable. The wires in the conduits I29 and I30, Fig. 2, lead to the switches H3 and I I4, Fig. 10, one set of switches controlling the lighting circuit and the other set controlling motor operation.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention just described are as follows:

Havin selected the type of structure to be supported by the turntable, and assuming that it is a frame structure, either square in outline or circular, the said structure will be supported by the turntable in the manner shown in Figure 10. A stairway I36, Fig. 1, may be carried by the turntable and external the bounding bar 23 to permit access within the house. If we assume the overhead electrical conduit system as shown in Figure 10, the operation of switches within the house will cause the house to rotate 90 each time a selected switch is closed. The house can therefore be rotated through 360 in one direction, and while no particular means is shown for causing counter-rotation of the house, it is within the purview of the invention to have such an arrangement.

In any event, each time the house rotates through 90 upon the closing of a switch, a switch is automatically opened to break current flow to the motor and stop rotation. All utilities are connectedatthe zone of the hub and such con-l nection'with the utilitypipes is effected in the ordinary manner.. It is evident that drinking water and the like is not contaminated in. the least for the reason that it is separated from the sewage and gas system and there is no communication therebetween. The sewage disposal system is of a size sufiicient to handle the sewage effectively and as for the gas, the pipe size is standard.

The utility pipes at the zone of the hub are easily contacted :as the turntable will be at a certain height above ground level. The area surrounding the piers 3 may be filled in and a portion within the confines of. said piers may constitute a cellar for the house. 7

We claim:

1. In rotary construction, a platform adapted to support a building structure, said platform provided with a central, annular hub casing, means mounting said platform for rotation about said hub, stationary annular utility pipes concentrically arranged within the confines of said hub, annular gland fittings secured on each annular utility pipe, annular glands slidably fitted in each, annular gland fitting, means of communication with utility outlets in the building and each of said annular glands,'and means interconnecting the annular glands with the hub to produce'rotation of said glands within said fittings when the hub is rotated.

2. In rotary house construction, a platform, a central, annular hub casing secured to the platform and depending therebeneath, separate means mounting said platform for rotation about the hub and adjacent the rim of the platform, a gas intake pipe positioned on the axis of said hub, an annular water pipe concentric with the gas pipe and an annular casting for waste concentric with the water pipe, said waste pipe and said water pipe each provided with annular gland seats, annular glands carried on said seats, and means fixedly interconnecting said annular glands with said hub whereby rotation of the platform produces simultaneous rotation of the hub and said annular glands.

' CHESTER A. KIRKMAN. RUSSELL D. KIRKMAN. WESSON A. KIRKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

